Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Every gaze in the room drifted, openly or otherwise, toward Shengsheng Zhou as she ground ink with her head lowered.
She did not understand.
Why had the author given her a role in this plot too?
“Lord Liu, are you speaking of me?” she asked at a most inappropriate moment.
He lowered his head in silent confirmation.
Siran Ming sneered.
“She is a lowly servant. How could she possibly affect the fortunes of the Yong Kingdom? Utter nonsense!”
Lord Liu immediately dropped to his knees.
“Your Majesty! During all my years in office, has any prediction of mine proved false? Please believe this minister. This woman is a calamitous star!”
“Silence!”
A teapot shattered beside Lord Liu. Siran’s chest rose and fell violently.
Shengsheng looked at him in surprise.
He was probably protecting her life only because of his agreement with Fusheng Duan.
Instinctively, she refused to consider any more romantic explanation.
“Your Majesty…” Lord Liu tried again.
One glance from Siran stopped the words in his throat.
“Escort Lord Liu home. We will discuss the matter another time.”
Weariness filled Siran’s voice.
Shengsheng volunteered to accompany Lord Liu from the hall.
Before leaving, he studied her for a long time with a complicated expression.
“Young lady, if you willingly offer yourself as a sacrifice, this official will send people every year to burn mountains of paper money for you.”
“At present, you are only a palace maid. Wouldn’t life in the underworld, with abundant wealth at your disposal, be better than what you have now?”
Even Shengsheng had never heard anyone persuade another person to die quite like this.
Little Liu, little Liu–no one sold an empty promise better than you.
“My lord exaggerates my importance. His Majesty said it himself: this servant is merely a lowly palace maid. How could I influence the fate of the Yong Kingdom?”
Lord Liu shook his head. He walked away muttering mournfully.
Despite Siran’s firm rejection, conditions at the border continued to deteriorate.
After hearing the Imperial Observatory’s prediction and learning that the calamitous star was only a minor palace maid, officials submitted memorial after memorial demanding her sacrifice.
Civil and military ministers knelt outside Qianhe Palace. Their posture suggested they would remain there for the rest of their lives unless Siran agreed.
Even Rong Li raised the matter after hearing that the imperial physicians sent to the border had also become infected. She reminded Siran that Shengsheng possessed strange arts and was no ordinary woman.
Since ancient times, natural disasters had inspired dread in emperors.
Siran had campaigned across the continent for years. He commanded its sharpest army and most formidable cavalry.
Yet even he hesitated before a violently contagious plague.
Shengsheng truly had cured the child’s carbuncle.
But this was plague.
If the most learned elders of the Imperial Medical Academy could not solve it, what could Shengsheng do?
Seeking peace from the endless petitions, Siran withdrew to a secluded pavilion.
A breeze stirred, cooling his feverish irritation.
“Your Majesty.”
Soft, boneless hands settled against his head and began gently massaging his temples.
Perhaps exhaustion had weakened him. He did not pull away.
Qingwan Xie smiled and slowly bent down until her lips hovered beside his ear.
“Your Majesty, you are the emperor.”
Siran’s eyes opened.
“Get out.”
Qingwan withdrew without excessive pleading.
Her words, however, lingered in Siran’s mind like a curse.
***
“Shengsheng, dinner is so lavish tonight!”
Zhiyu Jiang stared at plate after exquisite plate, nearly drooling.
Shengsheng Zhou studied the feast for a long time before slowly smiling.
“Yes. Very lavish.”
Naturally, a condemned prisoner’s final meal would be.
Even Pecky’s fruit was fresher than usual.
He spent his days either sleeping in the cloth pouch Shengsheng had sewn inside her sleeve or sunning himself on a roof beam in Qianhe Palace.
He knew more about the recent turmoil than almost anyone.
And he understood exactly what tonight’s feast meant.
“Come, eat more, Xiaoyu. We won’t often see food this fine in the future.”
Shengsheng placed another serving in Zhiyu Jiang’s bowl and stroked her head with maternal affection.
Once Zhiyu had eaten her fill, Shengsheng tucked Pecky inside her clothes and went outside.
She addressed the guard who had waited by the door.
“I want to see His Majesty.”
As she walked the familiar road to Qianhe Palace, Shengsheng calculated the time.
By the time she completed her plan, the six-month deadline should have arrived.
“Your Majesty.”
Shengsheng knelt and looked up at Siran Ming, seated above her without once glancing her way.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Does Your Majesty intend to sacrifice this servant?”
Silence filled the hall.
At length, Siran answered.
“Yes.”
“But Your Majesty said that this servant’s status was too low for her to affect the fortunes of the Yong Kingdom. Why have you changed your mind?”
Shan Hai was horrified.
He had believed Shengsheng understood proper conduct. How could she address the emperor with such insolence now?
Only then did Siran slowly lower his cold, dark eyes toward her.
“Whether or not you are a calamitous star can be determined by trying.”
He spoke as if her life and death meant nothing.
This was the decision an emperor should make. Personal love could not compare with a nation in peril.
In another life, Siran would have crossed fire and water for the woman who had moved his heart.
Not in this one.
The restored emperor before her was no longer Xiao Ming.
After meeting his gaze for a long time, Shengsheng nodded.
“I understand.”
“However, Your Majesty…”
Her change in tone caught Siran’s attention.
“What if I told you I can cure the plague? Would there still be any need to sacrifice me?”
She enunciated every word.
“Compared with a vague tale about a calamitous star, curing the plague is what truly matters. If I fail, Your Majesty may always sacrifice me afterward.”
Shan stared at her in shock, then anxiously studied Siran’s face.
Could anyone make such a promise casually?
What if Shengsheng used the opportunity to flee? Would that not create an even greater problem?
Your Majesty, you must not agree.
The silence stretched so long that Shan thought it was Siran’s refusal.
Then the emperor spoke.
“Very well.”